This archived community thread from the APG vNext support forum discusses: Changing Community Homepage.
About This Topic
Beginning v4.4, you can switch between 3 different presentation styles for your home page right from the AdminCP. It is possible with earlier versions...
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Changing the Community Homepage Layout in APG vNext
APG vNext supports three community homepage modes: Forums (classic forum index), Blog (blog post listing), and Mixed (featured content + forum listing). You can switch between them from the admin panel or web.config and customise the layout further via skin templates.
Switching Homepage Mode
<!-- web.config -->
<add key="APG.Community.HomepageMode" value="Forums" />
<!-- Options: Forums | Blog | Mixed -->Or: Admin Panel -> Settings -> Display -> Community Homepage Mode.
Mixed Mode Layout
Mixed mode shows a configurable "featured" section above the standard forum list. Features can be: latest blog posts, pinned announcements, a custom HTML widget, or a rotating banner.
<add key="APG.Homepage.FeaturedWidget" value="LatestBlogPosts" />
<add key="APG.Homepage.FeaturedCount" value="3" />Forum Index Grouping
-- Set display order for forum categories on homepage:
UPDATE apg_ForumCategories
SET DisplayOrder = CASE CategoryID
WHEN 1 THEN 1 -- Announcements first
WHEN 2 THEN 2 -- Support second
ELSE 99
END;Custom Welcome Banner
<!-- In homepage skin template: -->
<div class="community-welcome">
<h1>Welcome to Our Community</h1>
<p>Join <strong>{MemberCount}</strong> members discussing {ForumName}.</p>
</div>Related Resources
Changing the APG vNext Community Homepage
The APG vNext community homepage is the entry point for all community activity. It displays active threads, forum categories, statistics, and any pinned announcements. Customising this page significantly impacts first impressions for new visitors and the daily experience of returning members.
Available Homepage Layouts
- Classic forum index: Lists all forum categories with thread/post counts — traditional bulletin board style
- Activity stream: Shows a reverse-chronological feed of all recent posts across all forums
- Card layout: Displays forum categories as visual cards with recent thread previews
- Custom template: Fully custom design using the APG vNext template engine
Switching Homepage Layout
Admin Panel → Settings → Community → Homepage Layout → [Select] → Save
Or in web.config:
<add key="APG.Community.HomepageLayout" value="ActivityStream" />
<!-- Options: ClassicIndex, ActivityStream, CardLayout, Custom -->Pinned Announcements on the Homepage
All layouts support a configurable announcements section at the top of the homepage. Announcements are pinned forum threads from a designated "Announcements" forum. Configure which forum's pinned threads appear in the homepage announcements section:
<add key="APG.Community.AnnouncementForumID" value="1" />
<add key="APG.Community.MaxAnnouncements" value="3" />Statistics Widget Configuration
The homepage statistics widget (total members, total posts, members online now, newest member) provides social proof for new visitors. Configure which statistics are displayed:
<add key="APG.Community.ShowMemberCount" value="true" />
<add key="APG.Community.ShowPostCount" value="true" />
<add key="APG.Community.ShowOnlineCount" value="true" />
<add key="APG.Community.ShowNewestMember" value="true" />
<add key="APG.Community.OnlineCountWindow" value="15" />
<!-- Count members active in the last 15 minutes as "online" -->Mobile Homepage Optimisation
More than 60% of forum visits on most communities now come from mobile devices. The APG vNext homepage must perform well on mobile — fast loading, easy navigation, and no horizontal scrolling. Test the homepage on real iOS and Android devices (not just browser DevTools emulation) to identify touch target size issues, font size problems, and slow-loading widgets. The activity stream layout typically performs best on mobile because it avoids the dense category table layout that requires horizontal scrolling on narrow viewports. Enable lazy loading for the statistics widget and recent member avatars to reduce initial page weight on mobile connections.
Monitoring Homepage Performance with Core Web Vitals
The forum homepage is the most visited page on most community sites, making its Core Web Vitals scores especially important. Monitor LCP (Largest Contentful Paint), CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift), and FID (First Input Delay) in Google Search Console's Core Web Vitals report for the homepage URL specifically. The statistics widget and the recent-thread feed are common causes of layout shift — pre-size their containers in CSS with a fixed height to prevent CLS. The featured member avatars in the online members widget should use lazy loading to avoid blocking the LCP element. A forum homepage that scores green on all three Core Web Vitals will benefit from Google's ranking boost for fast-loading pages, improving organic search traffic to the forum over time.
Seasonal and Event-Based Homepage Customisation
Many community administrators customise the homepage layout for major events, community anniversaries, product launches, or seasonal occasions. APG vNext supports scheduled homepage banner changes and temporary announcement widgets that activate and deactivate automatically based on configured dates, reducing the manual overhead of updating and reverting homepage content for time-limited events.
Related Resources
Looking for more help? Browse the support forum or check the Knowledge Base.